Reiger and Ruff retained by Sabres
April 21st, 2009 by PeterSIn a move that surprised no-one with any level of awareness of the Buffalo Sabres, Managing partner Larry Quinn announced that GM Darcy Reiger and Coach Lindy Ruff would be retained for the upcoming season.
Personally, I am OK with this move, for now. There’s no denying that it is nice to see a team retain there coaching staff for more than 1/2 a season. Coaches frequently get fired because changing the coach is easier than changing the players. Sometimes it’s effective (see Pittsburgh this season, and to some extent Ottawa), while most of the time it doesn’t make much difference (see NJ in prior years, Montreal, NY Rangers, & Tampa Bay this season).
First off, Lindy Ruff is probably one of the top 5 coaches in the league, and I have a hard time thinking that it would ever make sense to fire him. There were times this year where it seemed he was getting poor efforts out of his players, but again, I strongly believe this is a problem with the make-up of the team, NOT the coaching staff. Lindy Ruff leaving would not be the end of the world, but it is unlikely that any replacement would be an upgrade.
Now the player problems fall squarely on the shoulders of the GM, Darcy Regier. And it’s not like he’s has any excuse in terms of money. While the Sabres may not be pushing the upper envelope of the salary cap, they certainly have not been hampered in terms of spending, being most years above the 50% mark of the salary cap range. I still hold management 100% responsible for the Drury/Briere debacle that still haunts this team 2 years later, and still feel Darcy Reiger should have lost his job after that move.
BUT, if you don’t fire him for that, I don’t see you firing him for this past season. He made moves last summer that both made hockey sense and were popular with the fans. He brought in Craig Rivet, a proven leader and grit guy. He retained players (Pomminville, Miller, Gaustad) that he thought would provide the future of this team, all signings that the fans got behind.
Even by the end of January, it seemed like things were working out. The Sabres had gotten it together, were in the 6th - 8th seed spot, and seemed like they were ready to make a move. Suddenly, Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller went down, and at the same time, the offense disappeared. The team has shown a distinct lack of on-ice leadership that has been on-going for two years. Reiger may have felt that certain players would step up and fill that void, and they just haven’t.
But, at this point, Reiger’s job should be on the line. He has an obvious problem on this team, a lack of leadership and accountability. Players to fill this void are necessarily easy to come by, but they at least usually aren’t expensive. My feeling is 3-4 of the right moves on this team could bring them back to contender status. He should be told…OK, for the first time since owner Tom Golisano came in, your job is on the line here. You need to get this team back in the playoffs in 2010. Anything less is unacceptable.
I wonder if this message has already been given. Many fans complained about the signing of Tim Connolly at the trade deadline as Reiger again going with the familiar and safe. But to me, signing Tim Connolly was a huge risk / reward situation. If the guy stays healthy, his presence along with Roy, Vanek, Pominville (assuming the early season this year was just a rough patch) gives you some solid offensive punch, and Regier comes off as shrewd to get him to sign that deal…because face it, a healthy Tim Connolly is a point-per-game guy, and worth a hell of a lot more than $4.5 million a year. But if he goes down to injury yet again, Regier will look like a fool for signing him yet again.
Besides, if Darcy Regier is let go, Lindy Ruff is almost certain to be out the door, too. Any decent GM coming in after a GM that’s been here 10 years will certainly want his own people, and that will include the head coach.
So, I’m willing to give Darcy Regier one more off-season. The needs and shortcomings of this team seem clearer than ever, even though they don’t appear to be that far away from the playoffs. If Regier keeps the team static (or near static) through the off-season, then he is blind and should be fired. If he makes the necessary changes, then I think the team makes it into the playoff picture, and he deservedly keeps his job.
I know the playoffs are in full swing…but Sabres fans out there…what do you think? Should Darcy Regier be given one more chance?
Posted in Sabres Blog
3 Responses to “Reiger and Ruff retained by Sabres”
By Justin Becker on Apr 21, 2009
First of all, I think I really like the Calgary / Chicago series.
In response to the posed question, I agree with the bulk what you’ve laid out. I agree completely about Lindy Ruff. As for Darcy Regier, with respect to 7/1/07, I remember speculation (who knows how accurate) that perhaps he didn’t have ultimate authority when negotiating with #’s 23 and 48. If I am remembering correctly, the first time he spoke after the free agent signings, it looked like his head was going to explode from the rage and he even said the team wouldn’t be as competitive the next year. Without being privy to what went on in the negotiating rooms, I don’t know if he can be given all of the blame.
The next summer, I recall speculation (again, who knows how accurate) that Darcy Regier would be allowed to ‘make the hockey decisions’. As you wrote, the moves all seemed right and made sense. It didn’t pan out. I agree that next season is ‘one more chance’, and that if the Sabres don’t make the playoffs next year, he should be fired. To add, I think that if the Sabres are out of contention by (arbitrarily) the all-star break, Lindy and Darcy should be fired mid-season.
So, what to do? I don’t have your Excel sheet with the contract values and terms, but Google helped my find this:
http://www.letsgosabres.com/team/payroll.php
UFA’s
- Max is clearly out. Also Tellqvist.
- I recall that, some time ago, you were sure Jaro Spacek would be gone at the end of his contract. I think he could be back, if “the price is right”.
- Teppo - If he agrees to the same contract as this year, I’m all for it.
- Moore, Peters, and Ellis - no idea.
RFA’s
- Sekera should be re-signed for sure.
- Stafford, MacArthur, and Kaleta should all be able to be retained, right?
All that said, who else do they try to move? Is it even possible anymore, actual trades in the off-season? Also, as ridiculous as it sounds in my head, is there anyone that they would consider buying out? (Probably not, but another option).
By PeterS on Apr 22, 2009
Well, I haven’t gotten into it yet,and I will have a more detailed post later, but I would prefer Spacek back over Tallinder or Lydman, so if they could make the space to do it, I would do it. Spacek will likely be looking at similar money to what he is already getting, if not a little bit more. (Say $3.5 - $4 million) Anything over that, and I would probably let him walk away.
I would actually like to see them dump Lalime (which would involve eating his $1M contract, so probably won’t happen) and sign Tellqvist. Lalime’s spotty play contributed to the playoff miss as much as anyone else, though I wouldn’t lay all the blame on him.
Personally, I could care less if Stafford or MacArthur come back. If the Sabres could get something for either of these guys, I would be all for it. I don’t think Stafford will be anymore than he is…an inconsistant 2nd liner that scores 15-20 goals. Some think he’s better than that, though. MacArthur showed flashes this season, but also disappeared for long periods of time. Sekera I would definitely keep. He was struggling badly late in the season, but has shown enough promise so far, and should be fairly cheap to retain at this point.
I don’t know specifically who should go, but to me, they should package 2 or 3 guys for 1 strong defensemen or a gritty/leader type in the forward pool. Then sign an UFA to fill more of the leadership void. Again, I’ll eventually post exactly what I would do, but that sums it up in broad strokes.